The cold wind howled.
Across the Shivering Sea, turbulent waves crashed relentlessly against the black reefs, sending great sprays of foam into the air.
Under Sparta's skilled handling, Galon and his companions sailed their longship around the hidden reefs, heading toward Skagos, the Island of Stone shrouded in a sulfurous mist.
Two more hours passed.
At last, the longship safely reached a beach on the northeastern coast of Skagos.
Dressed in his smoke-black scale armor with Ice at his waist, Galon rose and stepped off the ship, setting foot upon this forgotten "Island of Stone" of Westeros.
He looked around curiously.
At the far end of the beach, jagged rocks and tough moss covered the ground.
To the south, a narrow stone path that could barely be called a road wound its way into the faint morning mist.
Galon raised his head and looked into the distance.
He could faintly make out the silhouette of a volcano.
"My lord, that's where all our people live."
"From here, it takes three days to reach it. Along the way, we'll pass through Timber Hall and Deep Den."
Sparta stepped forward and explained.
Galon had already learned some details about Skagos from Sparta while they were still in the North.
Originally, the Skagosi on the island had been divided into several clans, constantly fighting one another over the lands beneath the volcano.
Timber Hall and Deep Den had been caught up in such conflicts.
But after the dragon came to the island, the clans gradually merged into a single people over the course of a century, driven together by the threat to their survival.
Even so—
The island's original population of nearly seventy thousand had gradually fallen to around thirty thousand.
Now, after more than a year away, Sparta and his Skagosi warriors had finally returned to their homeland.
They were both excited and nervous.
From the North to King's Landing and then to the Wall, Sparta and the others had witnessed many of Galon's miracles.
But when faced with that ravenous dragon, they still had little confidence.
If Glover were devoured by the dragon and died on Skagos, Sparta could hardly imagine how furious the people of the mainland would become.
Especially the North.
The Starks would surely send an army to flatten Skagos.
Galon's eyes shifted, as though he could see the uneasiness in Sparta and the others.
"Don't worry. With the horn, driving away the dragon won't be a problem."
"Come on. We still have a long road ahead of us."
Sparta forcibly suppressed his anxiety and nodded heavily.
"Yes, my lord."
He waved his hand, and two Skagosi carried the dragonbinder ashore.
The others followed and dragged the longship behind a large rock near the beach.
Once everything was prepared, Sparta took the lead and guided the group.
Surrounded by thirty of Glover's guards, Galon followed at an unhurried pace as they headed toward the heart of the island.
Before long, the group disappeared into the mist.
Two days later—
After struggling through a rugged canyon, the scenery before Galon suddenly opened up.
Beyond the canyon lay a lush green valley.
Deep within it—
A volcano belched thick white smoke into the sky.
Its slopes were covered in yellow-green vegetation, and at its foot stood a large village with a distinctly primitive atmosphere.
Galon narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance.
He could faintly see white bones hanging from tall poles throughout the village.
Whether they belonged to humans or animals, he could not tell.
Around the village, patches of land had been cultivated with millet and fruit trees.
On a plain southeast of the village, near a stream, a large number of unicorns were being kept in an enclosure.
Faint human figures moved among them.
"My lord, that's my home!"
Sparta excitedly pointed toward the village at the foot of the mountain.
Galon was slightly surprised.
Before coming here, he had imagined what the tribes of the Skagosi, who were known as "cannibals," would look like.
Perhaps they would be as savage and primitive as the cannibalistic wildling tribes beyond the Wall.
But now that he had actually seen their settlement, it did not look much different from an ordinary village in the North.
"Sparta, where is the dragon?"
Galon swept his gaze around, searching for the dragon's lair.
But after looking for a long time, he found nothing except a few small animals.
"It's behind the volcano."
Sparta pointed toward the mountain ahead, his voice tinged with sadness.
"That monster came to the island a century ago and has lived in a cave behind the volcano ever since."
"We tried to drive it away, but..."
He sighed.
The result was obvious.
"My lord, let's head over first."
"It'll take half a day to reach the village from here. It'll be dark by the time we arrive."
"Tomorrow, I'll take you to..."
Sparta had not finished speaking when a deafening roar suddenly tore through the clouds.
Roar!
Galon instinctively looked toward the sound.
On the far side of the volcano, a monstrous creature suddenly burst into view.
It raised its head and roared toward the heavens.
Scorching flames poured from its mouth, turning the yellow-green vegetation around the volcano into ash.
The village at the foot of the mountain immediately descended into chaos.
The monstrous creature spread its wings and took flight.
Within only a few breaths—
A massive black shadow, like a falling mountain range, blotted out the weak sunlight above Galon and the others.
It circled once above the canyon, then swept over it and plunged toward the unicorns kept at the foot of the volcano.
"It's a dragon!"
Sparta and his people cried out in terror.
Shock flashed through Galon's eyes.
The Cannibal was even larger than he had imagined.
Its black scales were hard as obsidian, while its eyes burned with a ghastly green fire.
When its enormous wings swept across the canyon, every beat stirred up howling winds.
'So this is the Cannibal...'
Galon's entire body trembled.
At the thought of attempting to tame such a dragon, indescribable excitement surged through him.
'This is a lot more thrilling than Red Bull's extreme sports events back in my old world.'
Galon forcibly suppressed the excitement surging through him.
His figure instantly appeared beside the dragonbinder.
He snatched it up with both hands, aimed it at the retreating Cannibal, and blew the horn with all his strength.
Woo—!
A deep, ominous horn blast filled the valley, carrying an unmistakable will of domination.
Instantly—
The Valyrian magic runes carved into the dragonbinder began glowing one after another.
At last, they transformed into an invisible magical rein that shot toward the retreating Cannibal.
The moment the horn sounded, everyone present felt their souls tremble.
They seemed to fall into some vast religious atmosphere, as though everything around them had become frozen in place.
But to the Cannibal, all it felt was rage and agony as something attempted to control it.
The dragon magic took effect immediately.
The instant the invisible reins touched the Cannibal's soul, it could no longer control its own body.
It plummeted from the sky.
Boom!
Its enormous body slammed into the grassland, sending dirt flying.
By sheer coincidence, it crashed less than a kilometer in front of Galon.
The dragon landed on its hind legs, spread its wings, and raised its head in a furious, unwilling roar.
Then the Cannibal began violently shaking its enormous head, as though desperately fighting against the command forcibly implanted within its mind.
Submit!
Galon roared inwardly, attempting to establish a connection with the Cannibal through the horn.
However—
The Cannibal was a wild dragon that had lived for centuries.
It had never been tamed by House Targaryen.
Its wildness and ferocity far exceeded Galon's expectations.
More importantly—
Galon's actions had finally allowed the Cannibal to determine exactly who was controlling it through the magical connection.
Its ghastly green eyes locked onto Galon several hundred meters away, who was still blowing the horn.
Roar!
The Cannibal let out a defiant roar.
Fighting against the magical restraint, it began rapidly scrambling forward.
It was actually charging toward Galon at incredible speed.
"Fuck!"
Galon's pupils contracted.
Seeing the enormous commotion caused by the approaching dragon, he immediately stopped blowing the horn.
Dragging the dragonbinder behind him, he turned and sprinted toward the canyon.
"Don't just stand there! Run!"
Galon's shout jolted everyone out of their trance.
But the instant they came back to their senses, they heard another furious roar.
The Cannibal, freed from the horn's control, spread its wings once again.
Within seconds, it flew over the group and opened its jaws.
A torrent of furious flames poured downward.
In an instant—
Black fire wrapped in a green magical glow descended like a curse from the god of death, engulfing the entrance to the canyon.
"Ah!"
Amid the screams, several Skagosi warriors were a step too slow.
They were engulfed by the black-green dragonfire and collapsed.
The smell of burning flesh spread through the canyon entrance.
'Fuck, the Cannibal really is difficult to deal with.'
Galon and the others hid behind a large rock jutting out from one side of the canyon, narrowly avoiding the black-green dragonfire.
Sparta and the others were pale, breathing heavily as they recovered from the shock.
"My lord, the horn isn't enough."
"What do we do now?"
Sparta licked his cracked lips and looked toward Galon, still clinging to a final sliver of hope.
Galon pressed himself tightly against the rock wall, avoiding the dragonfire while rapidly searching his mind for a solution.
"The dragonbinder isn't useless."
"It's just that the Cannibal's spirit is too powerful. It resisted the horn's restraints."
"We need to weaken its will somehow..."
His expression remained calm as he carefully searched through the knowledge of the Children of the Forest, looking for a spell capable of weakening a dragon's will.
'Found it!'
'The Children of the Forest can control beasts, soothe their minds, and even enter them through skinchanging.'
'To a certain extent, a dragon counts as a... beast.'
'This spell for calming the mind might work. But to cast it, I have to make physical contact with the dragon...'
Galon felt the rock wall growing hotter and hotter.
He realized that if they continued hiding here, they would eventually be burned alive by the Cannibal's flames.
'Have someone else blow the horn to suppress the Cannibal temporarily. I'll use that opportunity to make contact with its body.'
'Fuck it. Let's do this!'
In the blink of an eye, Galon made his decision.
There was no time to hesitate.
He turned toward Sparta and the others and spoke calmly.
"I need someone to blow the horn and suppress the dragon's movements. I'll charge in and control it while it's restrained.
Who is willing to blow the horn?"
Sparta and the others froze.
They all knew that anyone other than Galon who blew the horn would almost certainly die.
But after only a few seconds of hesitation—
One of the Skagosi warriors spoke quietly.
"My lord, I'll do it."
"Whether I blow it or not, I'm probably going to die. So I might as well take the chance for my people."
Galon solemnly nodded at him.
He handed over the dragonbinder.
The man's face twitched.
Then he took a deep breath and blew the horn with the determination of someone facing death.
Woo—!
The deep horn sounded once again.
The Cannibal's black-green dragonfire instantly disappeared.
The dragon fell from the sky once more and crashed to the ground, releasing a roar of agony.
Boom!
Hearing the impact, Galon immediately leaped out from behind the rock.
He moved nimbly across the rocks inside the canyon, dodging the patches of dragonfire that still burned here and there.
Soon—
The moment Galon stepped out of the canyon, his eyes met the Cannibal's savage green gaze.
Roar!
The Cannibal stood on its hind legs.
Suppressed by the horn, it could no longer unleash dragonfire.
It could only open its enormous jaws and snap toward Galon.
Galon dodged at the last possible instant.
Before the dragon could turn its head, he leaped onto its body. His hands immediately seized the moving scales.
As he climbed upward, he uttered several silent syllables in the Origin Language.
In an instant—
Galon's consciousness invaded the Cannibal's soul.
But only moments later—
Before Galon could establish a connection, the Skagosi warrior blowing the horn had completely lost his life.
The dragonbinder slipped from his hands.
It struck a rock on the ground and bounced into the middle of the canyon.
Whoosh!
The scorching black-green dragonfire erupted once more.
This time, the clever Cannibal ignored the insects on its body and those hiding nearby.
Instead, it aimed its flames directly at the black horn.
Despair appeared on Sparta and the others' faces.
They could only press themselves against the rock wall and watch helplessly as the magical runes on the dragonbinder were gradually destroyed by the dragonfire.
At that moment—
Galon finally climbed onto the Cannibal's back.
The black-green dragonfire abruptly stopped.
The dragon felt the foreign creature on its back.
Its naturally violent temperament erupted into madness.
It shook its body furiously, trying to throw off the damned insect.
Caught off guard, Galon's Ice was thrown from his waist and crashed to the ground.
But even so—
Galon continued clinging tightly to the dragon's neck, constantly uttering words in the Origin Language as he attempted to connect with the Cannibal's mind.
But without the dragonbinder's suppression, the Cannibal's spirit was violently unstable.
Galon could not establish a connection.
Even worse—
Once the Cannibal realized it could not shake the insect from its back, it suddenly slammed its wings against the ground.
Its enormous body shot into the sky.
A powerful sensation of weightlessness struck Galon.
The wind tore across his face like blades.
The Cannibal rolled through the air, dived, and even flew backward, desperately trying to throw the flea on its back to its death.
Galon clung tightly to a bone spur along the dragon's back.
His legs locked around the dragon's neck like iron clamps as his entire body was violently thrown about by its movements.
This was ten thousand times harder than taming the wildest horse.
"Fuck!"
"Calm down!"
A vicious glint flashed through Galon's eyes.
When the Cannibal leveled out in flight, Galon gathered every ounce of his strength and slammed his fist into the dragon's neck.
Since Valyrian magic had failed, he would use the methods of the First Men and the Old Gods.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Galon's strength, enough to contend with a giant, hammered into the dragon's body with all his might.
Even when his fists began to bleed, he continued punching the Cannibal again and again without regard for himself.
Roar!
Even with its thick scales protecting it, the Cannibal still felt intense pain.
The dragon had already flown out over the waters surrounding Skagos.
It suddenly dove toward the sea, its hind legs tearing through the water and sending a huge wave crashing outward.
Then it shot back into the sky.
It was trying to use the extreme force of the maneuver to escape its pain and shake the insect from its back.
And just as the dragon surged upward—
Galon once again used the spiritual magic of the Children of the Forest.
His mental power transformed into countless invisible roots, forcibly piercing into the Cannibal's spiritual world.
'If the gentle approach doesn't work... Then I'll use force.'
'Even if you're the Iron Bank itself, I'll pry your vault open!'
In an instant—
Galon was like a gangster kicking down the door of someone who refused to pay protection money.
He kicked open the door to the Cannibal's mind.
"Hmm?"
Galon's soul had been blessed by the Old Gods.
The moment he entered the Cannibal's spiritual world, filled with hunger, fire, and savagery, he felt almost as though he had returned home.
He moved through it as naturally as a fish through water.
How should he put it?
It was like the Elden Ring game from his previous life.
Imagine a player with unlimited souls and maxed-out stats going after the beginner dragon Agheel.
In an instant—
The health bar vanished.
Buzz!
The power of the Old Gods effortlessly suppressed the centuries-old dragon.
Galon easily established a spiritual connection with it.
But he did not brutally crush the Cannibal's consciousness.
Instead, he used the calming magic of the Children of the Forest.
His own will seeped into the dragon's mind like a gentle stream, gradually smoothing out the twisted folds of madness and rage.
The two shared one another's memories and sensations.
Gradually—
The Cannibal stopped resisting.
Instead, it began cooperating willingly.
Under the connection forged by the Old Gods, human and dragon achieved a strange form of symbiosis.
At last—
When night completely enveloped the Shivering Sea, the Cannibal stopped struggling.
It glided smoothly above the clouds, letting out a low, submissive growl.
Galon slowly opened his eyes.
Looking down at the calm sea rushing beneath them, he smiled with exhaustion and triumph.
He stroked the dragon's rough, warm scales and burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"From today onward, you are my dragon!"
"You are Placidusax!"
Placidusax raised its head and let out a tremendous roar, seemingly delighted by the name its master had given it.
"Come on."
"We should head back to Skagos."
Galon gently patted the black dragon's neck.
"Roar!"
Placidusax spread its wings once again and sped toward the distant Island of Stone.
__________
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